Field/project development

Field Development Projects-2017

The industry is evolving to a more factual approach to profitability, with emphasis in modeling the long-term scenarios with detail. And this applies for developments in both mature and new fields.

The new dynamics and strategies of field development are marked more than ever by the profitability considerations imposed by an extended period of low oil prices. The new market scenario has apparently cornered producers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to maintain their production volumes because reducing production to raise oil prices would trigger profitability levels for shale oil and nonconventional producers. Interweaved forces of precarious equilibrium affect field development and redevelopment plans.

The papers presented at main SPE conferences are grounded in this reality, and I found that a staggering number of articles by researchers and service and producing companies are related to theoretical and real-data economic modeling, with approaches rarely seen before, where the long-term profitability has acquired prime weight. Early assessments of the future reservoir response to enhanced-recovery systems need more-detailed, -reliable, and -precise forecasts to enable decisions of ever-more-demanding investors and stakeholders in international and national oil companies.

Development/redevelopment plans for new and established oil fields of any kind undergo a detailed screening of future performance in low-price scenarios, and further challenges to cost arise when producing from frontier areas or from reservoirs with different maturity levels at the same time or with environmentally challenged production systems.

The papers selected typify this new trend and exemplify several of the challenges experienced in new and mature oil fields. Paper SPE 181598 showcases challenges for offshore redevelopment in the Middle East to extend production for 25 years. Paper IPTC 18984 accounts for an incipient shale development in China, and paper SPE 182269 departs from the conventional net-present-value maximization and capital-expenditure minimization to explore alternative options for subsea-production-systems design.

The industry is evolving to a more factual approach to profitability, with emphasis in modeling the long-term scenarios with detail. And this applies for developments in both mature and new fields.

This Month's Technical Papers

Field Life Extension in Abu Dhabi Through Hybrid Development Concept

3D Full-Field and Pad Geomechanics Models Aid Shale Gas Field Development in China

Approach Redefines Ideal Project Scope and Facilities Size for Field Development

Recommended Additional Reading

SPE 182632 Model-Based Well-Location Optimization—A Robust Approach by B.A. Ramirez, Shell, et al.

OTC 27592 Johan Sverdrup—Creating a Unique Environment for Successful Drilling Operations in an Accelerating Spotlight Project by Jákup Øregaard, Statoil, et al.

SPE 184848 Optimizing Well Spacing and Well Performance in the Piceance Basin Niobrara Formation by N. Li, Black Hills Exploration and Production, et al.

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Maria A. Capello, SPE, is an executive adviser with the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) for the North Kuwait Asset, advancing strategic initiatives in reservoir-management best practices for all assets of KOC and diversity for all companies upstream and downstream of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation holding. She is an experienced consultant for the oil and gas industry and an expert in field-development and -monitoring strategies. Capello has worked in Latin America, the United States, and the Middle East. She holds a licentiate degree in physics from Simon Bolívar University and an MS degree in geophysics from the Colorado School of Mines. Capello holds an honorary lifetime membership from the Society of Exploration Geophysicists and has received its Distinguished Member and Regional Service awards. She serves on the JPT Editorial Committee and can be reached at mcapello@kockw.com.